Sewer bucket emptying hoist



Apnl 4, 1950 RQROBINSON ETAL 2,502,593

v SEWER BUCKET EMPTYING HOIST Filed Aug. 8, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F'ul- WITNESSES: INVENTORS. LAWRENCE R- kOBI/VSON,

- KYLE I. ROBINSON,

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I I (ED 1 49 M WWW ATTORNEYS.

| R. ROBINSON EI'AL 2,502,593

April 4, 1950 SEWER BUCKET EMPTYING HOIST Filed Aug. 8, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR S NSON,

WITNESSES BY 655%?" 2. L

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Patented Apr. 4, 1950 SEWERBUCKET EMP'I'YIN G HOIST Lawrence R. Robinson, Mount Lebanon, Kyle I. Robinson, Glenshaw, Earl O. Berger, Bellevue, and Walter S. Lang, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignors to Pittsburgh Pipe Cleaner Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application August 8, 1946, Serial No. 689,236

8 Claims.

This invention relates to sewer cleaning apparatus, and more particularly to hoists or cranes for pulling drag line buckets through sewers and emptying their contents above the ground.

It is customary practice to clean sewers by dragging a bucket through them and then lifting it from a manhole so that it can be emptied. A common type of bucket for this purpose has an open upper end, and a lower end provided with hinged bottom plates or jaws. A cable is attached to each end of the bucket for pulling it on its side. in opposite directions through a sewer. When the cable attached to the bottom of the bucket is pulled the jaws are opened, but when the other cable is pulled the jaws are swung together to close that end of the bucket so that the bucket can be lifted out of the sewer and emptied. Winches are used for reeling in the cables alternately, and, at the manhole where the loaded bucket is removed from the sewer, a hoist is provided for lifting the bucket above the ground. During ascent of the bucket from the sewer the tension on the lifting cable holds the bucket bottom jaws closed. Heretofore, in emptying the bucket, a hook on the hoist has been hooked manually into a hole in the side wall of the bucket to support it sothat the tension on the lifting cable could be released, whereupon the bottom jaws swung open by gravity and discharged the contents of the bucket into a waiting receptacle. It being desirable to empty the bucket at one side of the manhole, the practice has been to mount the supporting hook on the free end of a horizontally swinging boom connected to the hoist. In swinging the boom away from the manhole the lifting cable must be payed out, but unless just the right tension on that cable is maintained, the bucket will discharge its concated beside a winch, supports a cable that has one end connected to the winch and the other end attached to a drag bucket for pulling the bucket through a sewer and up to the crane. The

2 bucket has a gravity opened bottom and means at its top through which the cable pulls the bottom shut. the bucket, means are mounted on the crane which are adapted to be actuated by the rising bucket to engage and support the bucket independently of the hoist cable. When the bucket is so supported, the tension on the cable can be released and the bottom of the bucket will fall.

open to emptyit.

Preferably, the bucket supporting means comprises a hook which is pivotally connected to the crane and which is adapted to be actuated by the rising bucket to swing it into interlocking engagement with the bucket wall, such as into an opening therein. Also, means are connected to the crane to guide the bucket wall opening into hook-receiving position and, most suitably, manually operable means are provided for disengaging the hook from the bucket and retain-- ing it in readiness for engaging the bucket the next time the latter is pulled up to it.

The preferred form of crane, briefly, comprises a base member which rests on the ground beside the sewer manhole and which pivotally supports a normally horizontal frame. A vertical sleeve is mounted on the frame, and the lower end of a mast is rotatably received in the sleeve. boom is attached to the top of the mast and suitable braces are provided. The bucket supporting and bucket guiding means are carried by the free end of the boom which can be swung to one side without the necessity of paying out cable. The component parts of the crane are detachably. connected one to the other and the supporting braces are so attached that they can be removedeasily and the mast swung downwardly into easy reach of the operator for disassembling and transportation.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings of which Fig. 1 is a side view of the hoist; Fig. 2

is a front view thereof; and Figs. 3 and 4 are horizontal sections taken on the lines IIIIII and IVIV, respectively, of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, a base member I is formed from a pair of parallel side channels 2 secured on edge on the upturned flanges of a plurality of transverse channels 3'which rest on the ground. Mounted on-the rear portion ofthis base is a 'winchwhich includes a powerdriven drum 4. In front of the drum a frame 5, Fig. 4, is mounted between the side channels 2 of the base. This frame is formed from a pair of side plates 1 that are connectedby angle irons In order to empty the contents of,

8 spaced inwardly from the ends of the plates and connected by a pair of short angles 9 to form a square open space in the center of the frame. The front ends of the side plates are provided with openings through which extends a long pivot rod II that is mounted in the side channels of the base, this rod having one end formed with a head I2 bearing against one of the channels, the other end of the rod being threaded to receive a nut I2" which secures the'mounting of the rod. The rear ends of the side plates also are provided with openings through which extend bolts l2 that are removably mounted inthe base. If these bolts are removed,ithe. rear end of the frame can be swung upwardly. and forward on the rod as a pivot.

Rigidly mounted in the square open space in the center of the frame is the lower end of a vertical sleeve I3. The upper end of this sleeve normally is clamped in a two part clamp I4 which isclosed and connected'by bolts It to horizontal arms I1, the outer ends of which are connected by bolts I8 to the upper ends of a pair of A braces I9 rigidly mounted on the side channels of the base. The upper ends of the A braces also are connected by a semicircular angle iron 2|. Mounted on the back of the A braces are a pair of brackets 22 in which a horizontal shaft 23 is supported. A sheave 24 is rotatably and slidably mounted on this shaft in front of the drum.

The sleeve I3 supports a crane mast 2B which preferably is made in sections from any desired number of metal tubes 21, 28 and 29 that are fastened together end to end by welding'flanged collars 3|. to their ends and bolting the collar flanges together. The lowest collar is disposed close to the upper end of the sleeve. The bottom of the mast rests on a bearing 32 secured in the lower end of the sleeve so that the mast can be turned in the sleeve. Center section 28 of the mast may be provided with openings 33 through it in which a rod can be inserted for rotating the mast on its axis.

Rigidly mounted on the upper end of the mast diagonal braces 42 bolted to the central portion: of the boom and to the lowest pair of collars 3i on the mast. Mounted on the inner end of the I boom are bearing plates 43 between which a sheave 44 is journaled. Another sheave 46 is journaled in the outer end of the boom. A cable 41, which is wound on the drum 4 of the winch, passes under lower sheave 24 and up and over upper sheave 44 and'then out and down around the sheave 46 at the outer end of the boom. The upper end of the cable hangs down below the outer endof the boom and is fastened toa sewer cleaning bucket'48.

An advantage of the hoist described thus far is that it readily can be disassembled for transportation from one location to another. Thus, after winding in cable 41 to pull bucket 48 up against the outer end of theboom, either bolts H or 3 are removed to disconnect sleeve I3 from A braces I9, and bolts I2 are removed from the base and frame 6. The weight ofthe boom and bucket then will tend to swing the crane forward by tilting up frame 6- onpivot rod l I. Swinging of the crane down to the ground is controlled by paying out the cable at the desired rate. When the mast has been lowered in this manner the diagonal braces 42 can be removed and then pin 4I can be taken out to permit the boom to be separated from the mast. The mast can be withdrawn from sleeve l3 and, if desired, divided into short sections by disconnecting collars 3!. It then is an easy matter to load all these relatively small parts on a truck and carry them to a new location where the hoist can be assembled by reversing the procedure just described.

The type of sewer cleaning bucket with which this hoist is most useful is one having a gravity opened bottom, and-means at its top for pulling the bottom shut. Thus, bucket 48 has an open front end or top,,and a rear end or bottom formed from jaws 5| hinged to its lower end. The jaws are operatively connected in well known manner to the lower ends of a pair of vertical side bars 52 that can slide up and down the outside of the bucket side wall. The ends of a bail 53 extend through the upperends of the side bars and through underlying vertical slots in the bucket wall. When the bucket is suspended by this bail, the side bars hold the bottom jaws closed. Another bail 54 is attached to the lower ends of the side bars and to a'cable 56 by which the bucket can be pulled backwardly through a sewer. When this occurs, the side bars are pulled toward the bottom or rear end of the bucket, whereby the jaws are swung'open. As soon as the tension on this cable is released and drum 4starts to wind in cable 41', the front end v bail 53 pulls on side bars 52 and thereby closes the jaws so that the bucket can become filled with mud and debris in the sewer and carry it upto the hoist boom. The upper bail may be provided with arcuate skirts 51 for guiding the bucket around the usual sheave (not shown) at the lower. end of the sewer manhole so that the front end ofthe bucket will not catch on the sheave.

Another feature. of this. invention is that after the bucket has been hoisted from the manhole the boom can be swung to one side and then the lifting cable 41' released without releasing the bucket, whereupon the bottom of the bucket will open to discharge. its contents. Accordingly, a hook'58'is pivotally connected to the crane in such a way that its lower end will catch hold of the bucket and support it while .the lifting cable is released. Preferably, the hook is. pivoted to one of a pair of guide plates 59 and 6!) rigidly suspended from the outer end of'the boom. The hook is pivoted near its upper end; audits lower end is shaped toproject through either one of a pair of diametrically opposite openings BI with which the upper end of the bucket. is provided. The purpose of'the. guide plates, which have downwardly diverging lower portions, is to compel the upper bail 53 always to turn into a plane transverse to the boom so that one of the bucket openings 6| will be .incorrect position for receiving the hook. The'upper end of the hook is bentto form an arm 62 adapted to-project through a slot in the adjoining guide plate 59 and to extend well intothe space between the two guide plates.

When the upper bail of the bucket is raised between the guide plates. one ofsthe skirts 5! strikes arm 52 and swings it back. This causes the lower end of the'hookto swingzinto one of the side openings 6| in the bucket.

The crane then is turned to swingthe boom away fromabovethe manhole, after which drum 4 is reversed enough to allow the bucket to be suspended by the hook and to permit the bucket jaws to open and release the'contents of the bucket onto a pile on the ground or into a truck or the like. There is no danger of accidentally emptying the bucket too soon, because cable 41 does not have to be released at all until after the crane has been swung into the desired position. After being emptied, the bucket can be swung back over the manhole, and lifting cable 41 wound on the drum sufficiently to take the weight of the bucket off the hook.

Another feature of this invention is the provision of means for disengaging thehook from the bucket. Such means comprise a line at--- tached at one end to the lower portion of the hook and extending over a sheave H suspended from the inner end of the boom and then down to a sheave "to the periphery of which it is secured. Sheave 12 is mounted onthe mast of the crane within easy reach of the hoist operator and is provided with a handle 13 which, when swung counter-clockwise to the position shown in the broken lines in'Fig. 1, winds a short portion of the line on the sheave and pulls the hook back to the retracted position also shown in broken lines of the same figure. In this position the arm at the upper end of the hook projects between guide plates 59 and 6B. The hook will remain in this position until struck by a bucket bail skirt because the weight of the handle is sufiicient to hold the hook retracted.

Although the mechanism provided by this invention for catching and holding the bucket has been described with relation to a bucket and bail having a skirt, such skirt is not necessary to the invention and, if desired, can be omitted. In such case the size and shape ofthe guide plates as well as the amount of the extension of the hook arm through the opening in the guide plate can be so arranged that the bail itself will strike the arm and cause it to pivot into the opening in the bucket.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes we have explained the principle and mode of operation of our invention and have illustrated and described what we now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, we desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

We claim:

1. A hoist for use with a bucket having a gravity opened bottom and means at its top for pulling the bottom shut, said hoist comprising a crane, a winch beside the crane, a cable supported by the crane with one end connected to the winch and the other end adapted to beattached to said bucket means for pulling the bucket through a sewer and up to the crane, latching means supported by the crane and adapted to be actuated towards a latching position by the rising bucket for supporting the bucket when the tension on the cable is released, whereby the bottom of the bucket will open to empty it and guide members on the crane adapted to be engaged side the crane, a cable supported by the crane with one end connected to the winch and the other end attached to said bucket means for pulling the bucket through a sewer and up to the crane, a hook pivotally connected to the crane and adapted to be actuated by the rising bucket to swing it into said wall opening to support the bucket when the tension on the cable is released, whereby the bottom of the bucket will open to empty it, and means connected to the crane for guiding said bucket wall opening into hookreceiving position. i

3. A hoist for use with a bucket having a gravity opened bottom and means at its top for pulling the bottom shut, said hoist comprising a crane, a winch beside the crane, a cable supported by the crane with one end connected to the winch and the other end adapted to be attached to said bucket means for pulling the bucket through a sewer and up to the crane, and a normally retracted vertical hook pivotally mounted on the crane and having a lower end adapted to engage and support the bucket when the tension on said cable is released, whereby the bottom of the bucket will open to empty it, the upper end of the hook being provided with a lateral projection normally projecting into the path of the rising bucket and adapted to'be actuated thereby in order to swing said lower end of the hook into engagement with the bucket.

4. A hoist for use with a bucket having a gravity opened bottom and a bail at its top for pulling the bottom shut, said hoist comprising a crane, a-winch beside the crane, a cable supported by the crane with one end connected to the winch and the otherend adapted to be attached to said bail for pulling the bucket through a sewer and up to the crane, guide members on the crane adaptedto be engaged by the hail of the rising bucket for rotating it into predetermined position, and a hook pivotally connected to the crane and adapted to be actuated by the rising bucket to swing it into engagement with the bucket in order to support the bucket when the tension on the cable is released, whereby the bottom of the bucket will open to empty it.

5. Sewer cleaning apparatus comprising a bucket having a gravity opened bottom and a bail at its top for pulling the bottom shut, the side wall of said bucket being provided with an opening near its upper end, a crane, a winch by the rising bucket for rotating it into position beside the crane, a cable supported by the crane with one end connected to the winch and the other end attached to said bail for pulling the bucket through a sewer and up to the crane, guide members on the crane adapted to be engaged by the bail of the rising bucket for rotatin it into predetermined position, and a hook pivotally connected to the crane and having its upper end projecting between said guide members and adapted to be actuated by said bail for swinging the lower end of the hook into said bucket wall opening to support the bucket when the tension on the cable is released, whereby the bottom of the bucket will open to empty it.

6. Sewer cleaning apparatus comprising a bucket having a gravity opened bottom and a bail at its top for pulling the bottom shut, the side wall of said bucket being provided with an opening near its upper end, a crane, a winch beside the crane, a cable supported by the crane with one end connected to the winch and the other end attached to said bail for pulling the bucket through a sewer and up to the crane, a

pair of upwardly converging guide plates mounted on the crane adaptedito:beaengaged by the= bail of the: risingbucket :for rotatingsit' into-predetermined-position; onesof :said-iplates being provided with anopeningthroughit; and anormally retracted :vertical" hook; ivotally mou'nte'd on said said' hook normally projectingthrough said plate opening into the path of the rising bucket and adapted to be actuated thereby to swingv the lower end of the hook intosaid-wall opening.

7'. A'- hoist for use With a bucket having a gravity: opened'bottom and means at its top for pulling the bottom shut, said hoist comprising a base member adapted to reston the ground beside a manhole; a normally horizontal frame pivotally supported by's'aid base member on a horizontal axis, a vertical'sleeve member rigidly mounted on said frame, detachable means normally holding the'sleeve member upright, a mast removably mounted in said sleeve member and extending above it, aboom projecting laterally from the upper end fofsaid mast anddetachably connected thereto, a'winch-mounted on said base member, a cable supportedby-the outer end of said booth with one end of the cable connected to the winch and the other end adapted to be attached to saidbucketmeans for pulling the buck'et'through a-sewer and up to'the boom, and

means supported' by said boom and adapted to beactuated to a'bucket engag-ing position by the rising bucket for supporting the bucket when'the;

8 pullingrthe: bottom shut; saidahoist:;comprising;: abasememberadapted to; rest on therground: beside a manhole, a normally horizontal frame pivotally supported by said base member on a; horizontal axis, avvertical sleeve member rigidly mounted ons-aid frame; detachable means normally holding the sleeve member upright, a mast formed .from-a plurality .of: detachably connected sections with the lowestsection rotatably and ,removably mounted in said :sleeve member; a:..

boom projecting laterally from the upper endiofsaid mast: and detachably connected thereto; a winch mounted on said base member, aucable supported by the outer-end ofrsaicl ooomywith onerendaof'the cable connected tothe 'winch'and the; other end-adapted to be attached 'to vsaida bucket means for pulling the .bucket-throughqal sewer and up to the-boom; and'mea-nsisupportedi bywsaid boom-:andad'aptedtobe actuated to az. bucket-engagingposition by the rising bucket forsupporting the buck'et-whenthe tension on the cable-sis released; whereby the bottom of' thebucket will open to empty it.

' LAWRENCE 'RJ. ROBINSON.

KYLE I; ROBINSON. EARL 0.1 BERGER. WALTER". S; LANG.

REFERENCES- CITED The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 761,695 Myers June 7', 1904 1313378 Healey Aug. 19,1919 1,440,406 Nolan Jan;- 2, 1923 2,128,650 Knoerzer AugJSO, 1938* 2,187,657 Lambert Jan. 16, 1940 

